Lisa Peers and her family partner Dani Kurepa have repaired their 1914 artisans in Portrero Hill over the past five years.For the past five years, Mike Kepa, a fellow at the CHRONICLELisa, and her family partner Dani kurupa have repaired their 1914 artisans at Portrero Hill.Mike capaka/Chronicles too often, it boils down to some ridiculous simplicity.Shampoo rack in shower.Strawberry block in the backyard.Bold or neutral?Shredded champagne or iceblue velvet?Four or six burners?This is the legendary thing;The fire of the end of the World War, let the couple rush to their (unfinished) corner, angry at the unbearable taste of the partner --and worse."I did some projects for the couple they divorced," said San Francisco architect Eric Staten ."."People always say that if you are an architect, you must also be a marriage counselor."While this situation is rarely so severe, clean construction and carpentry experts will say that home projects can sometimes cause fires --Martha Stewart.Even the cutest, sociable couple will have some problems (Qing lime, dear?) Will definitely inspire a concert of snoring and turning eyes."It's a test of marriage," said Lisa Pince, partner of a serious home maintenance specialist."Can you pick wallpaper together?Marriage will continue if it can."Today, this minute, somewhere in Berkeley, San Francisco, San Rafael, the floor is rising, the tiles are falling, the couples are groping, find out how to deal with the inevitable differences in how they taste and work.For some surviving Gulf couplesYes, all of the people interviewed came up from the recently completed project --Dictatorship works best.Others prefer to divide and conquer.There are others who just want to suppress the opposition and adopt the dictatorship model, but try to build a fragile democracy."Couples who work well from those who look at things-to-The eyes of those who don't see the eyes-to-Eyes, but separate tasks enough.One focuses on design and the other focuses on nuts and bolts."It can work, too," says Alex Bergton, an architect at emmerville ."."The best couple are couples who listen to each other and respect each other."One design, the other is Dani Kurepa and Lisa Peers, a 12-year partner, the parents and owners of 1914 Potrero Hill double Craftsman have a simple system: k design and execute everything.Peers -self-Described as "complete incompetence in carpentry "--Carry heavy materials, encourage and praise."I'll say to Lisa, 'Well, we're building a deck right now, 'explained Kurepa. '"."She would say, 'Okay.What do you want me to bring?What ladder do you want me to take?She is good at carrying bags of cement and wood."On one occasion, Peers visited her mother for a few days and came back to find a wall and a new paint for a new bedroom.The books are everywhere, but the companions are very happy.Kurepa, a self-In her name, teaching carpentry nature with a string of successful refurbished New England antique houses, she is not always lucky enough to fall in love with a mature Libra with sound judgment."I live with a woman who really can't stand dirt and dust," she said ."."She is a real woman.If she had to hammer something, she would have cried."After a long struggle about what color to paint the fireplace, another relationship broke out --white or off-white."The results are very bad," Kurepa said ."."We ended up selling the house and driving each other crazy.Even with the KurepaAs simple as their arrangement.Sometimes quarrel about the house.Although the idea of painting coral in the downstairs room made Kurepa's classical emotions tense, she decided to indulge her companions in their taste of color.They agreed that the result was sub-optimal."It will definitely wake you up in the morning," said Peers .".Home Depot is also the source of some tensions."My Home Depot is a church," says Kurepa .".She walked through every aisle, touched everything, and was angry at the impatience of her companions."I am allergic," said the companions, who received a slight relief when a latte was installed in front of the store.Kurepa said she was worried that if she died, her peers and their children would end up "sitting in the dark without running water", but mostly, both were happy with their system.It's not so clean and simple for many couples to organize family projects.Most people separate tasks and exert the power of everyone: a dreamer and a realist, a researcher and a laborer, a project manager and a detail person.Herman Bond, 38, in San Francisco, says his wife likes to flip through color samples, but gets dizzy after "watching white paint of different colors for 8 hours.After a meeting like this, he told her, "Go out yourself, dear, and come to me with two or three decisions."That's what they did.Others start major projects by listing priorities and agreeing to tradeoffs.Alexandra Torre wants a second bathroom and her husband wants a second kitchen sink.Now they have the Edward family in San Francisco.In 1999, 32-year-old Katie and Nasser Sears bought a 1927 Mediterranean --Stylish Home in Noe Valley.They decided to renovate the house themselves, bought matching work clothes and started working.Katie, creative project-Store manager, color picking, furniture, home appliances, house painting, garden design.Her husband tiled the bathroom and kitchen with new walnut countertops and selected light fixtures, more meticulous and mechanical.Together they pulled out the rotten walls, closets and breakfast corners, and with some help they replaced the kitchen floor.This division of labor works well for their families and relationshipsNearly two years later, they will be filled with great pride and admiration.Of course, there are some bumpy patches.In particular, the renovation of the bathroom produced some friction.Katie loves sea foam green and navy blue tilesnow.It's just that she's annoyed by the slow pace of nazille."The main thing I want is for him to finish the bathroom," she said.He will tell me not to go to the bathroom.That's his place.He said: "She will ask me sharp questions about when the bathroom will be finished.I don't think she understands how much time it takes to do it.I don't have a timeline, I just unplug as much as I can.She wants a plan and an agenda to be completed by the deadline.That's not my style."I will never post the tiles again," said nazarnier .".Tiles, stones, lighting and cabinets are often controversial, Bergtraun said.Berkeley architect Barry Wagner believes that the color of war is often chosen."Because this is very subjective," he said .""The possibilities are infinite.It's hard to predict what this color will look like in that position and how it will affect the rest of the environment.Patrick Carney, 45, said he was able to convince his partner that bold colors were inappropriate for their theater District 1 --He shuttled through a series of open houses on weekends."There is nothing more to help people make decisions than precedent," he said ."It is these decisions that will cause trouble to the opinionated couples who want to decide everything together, whether it be Hell or High Water.Take the example of the Berkeley couple Debra Stein and architect Jeffrey Heiler, who have been married for 14 years."We could be acid testing for dealing with each other," says Heller Manus, president of the firm ."."Everything is negotiated."Their friends laughed, but for peace and longevity, when they fixed the room 1938 Clarence Mayhew, which was rotting, they asked for help, and when they visited for the first time, dirty and gifted with the "Adams family."When you get married to an architect, small differences of opinion can turn into a bigger marriage disaster," Stein said ."."I like to think that I love my husband more than architecture, and the smartest thing to do is to bring in an external designer."They rely on the designer to find and display the samples according to the couple's clear instructions.Then designers retreat when complex multilateral negotiations begin."I think we're driving him crazy," said Heller .""He did a good job considering the situation at the time.I don't know if he will do it again." Form vs.Heller described his differences with his wife as a classic case of form and function.Comfort and practicality outweighed design for her;Design rules for him.His wife, he said, was "too difficult" because he was an architect at home."Because of his expertise, I can't say that I obey his judgment," she said.I usually obey him because the design means a lot to him....My unhappiness will be less than his unhappiness, so as wife of love, I let SirThe architect has his method."Of course, both sides agree that this is not the case with the infamous Battle of the ceiling.Stan wanted to paint the wooden strips through the ceiling of the restaurant;Heller didn't.The trick for them to deal with design differences is to put them aside until they are able to resolve them, so they do so.And they did."It took us a few years to ask for expert advice from building friends and for advice from guests at a slightly drunken dinner," Stein said .".At last, the painting became white.Fortunately, many of these fierce battles have a happy ending worthy of the sitcom Home Improvement."People who are so determined to resist the second sink/neutral palette/white ceiling often embrace the end result with the enthusiasm of the convert.As for the hailer.The architect admitted, "There's definitely no problem because I haven't noticed it anymore.Eric Staten said: "The Secret of the relationship is to give in."Keep your point of view, as one couple after another suggested."You pay too much attention to the details," said Dawn Pieper of Auckland ." She found herself arguing fiercely over knobs, toilet seats and shower racks during the kitchen and bathroom renovation."Little things don't sweat.Winning the Battle of the ceiling in our marriage is not a terrible, painful event."I won't lick my lips in victory either," Stein said ."."I want to tell you that I am now blonde, playing the piano and creating world peace....But for God's sake, it's a ceiling.